Summary:[Xbox Live Arcade] Portal: Still Alive features the full award-winning Portal single player game from Valve, plus a new challenge mode. Designed to change the way you approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in any given environment, Portal has earned over 70 industry honors for[Xbox Live Arcade] Portal: Still Alive features the full award-winning Portal single player game from Valve, plus a new challenge mode. Designed to change the way you approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in any given environment, Portal has earned over 70 industry honors for its innovative gameplay, with more than 30 "Game of the Year" awards. Break the laws of physics using "portal" technology to solve puzzles and survive in this darkly comic story weaving adventure with brain-bending puzzles. Experience the first first-person puzzle-action-adventure game with hours of single player gaming. The game includes fourteen brand new bonus puzzles to challenge even the most skilled test subjects. And, get a glimpse into the making of Portal: Still Alive with commentary from the developers. [Valve]…Expand

I can’t imagine the emptiness your life has been up to this point without having experienced the joys of the Companion Cube or the awesome song over the end credits. Portal: Still Alive is your chance to set your life right.

I'm mostly posting this to respond to Perse Pappa's comment. This game was originally released as part of The Orange Box, next to I'm mostly posting this to respond to Perse Pappa's comment. This game was originally released as part of The Orange Box, next to Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, although this is much added content that was not included with that release. It is a game deserving of a full release in and of itself. The game is innovative and invigorating. It is nothing like the majority of XBLA games out there. Production quality is that of a full release game. Furthermore, just because games on XBLA are normally "lousy" does not mean that there is not a minority worth purchasing (especially for the price). Braid is a shining example of this. N+ and World of Goo (available to Wii owners as WiiWare) are worthy purchases as well. Perse, you should play the game before you post.…Expand

Portal is a great concept, brilliantly executed. Wonderful, intuitive puzzle design, a great visual aesthetic, and some of the funniest darkPortal is a great concept, brilliantly executed. Wonderful, intuitive puzzle design, a great visual aesthetic, and some of the funniest dark humor narration you could want. Short but there's not a bad moment to be found and this version of the game comes with a whole new challenge mode where you complete short puzzles under strict time limits to earn medals...this encourages some really creative portaling!…Expand

The developer commentary featured in the "Still Alive" XBLA version of Portal is incredibly insightful. Well aware that they had created aThe developer commentary featured in the "Still Alive" XBLA version of Portal is incredibly insightful. Well aware that they had created a completely new animal, the first-person puzzle platformer, the guys and girls at Valve explain how each of the 19 puzzle chambers was carefully engineered to gradually "train" the player and equip them with the necessary skills to tackle the increasingly more complex challenges. Some levels were modified, some cut completely, and additional ones added based on the responses of the playtesters. There's no filler, everything is there for a reason. It really illustrates how impressive the game is - not only refreshingly original, but also constructed to perfection.

Portal is short. It can be completed in a couple of hours, but it houses more new ideas and memorable moments than most other titles ten times its duration, and that's really what matters. The escape sequence at the end, which all that training has been leading up to, is the highlight, and means that the game is one of very few which continuously builds up all the way through and peaks at its conclusion. The characters are also excellent - the menacing GLaDOS and her chilling dialogue, and player character Chell for the exact opposite reason - because she is silent and almost invisible, giving the player a real personal connection to the villain.

The sequel, released four years later, was also spectacular, but the first game left a much greater impression on me. Portal 2, while possibly the funniest game I have ever played - largely thanks to Stephen Merchant's portrayal of Wheatley, was understandably an evolution of the first game. It contained some nice innovations and furthered the physics-based puzzling with a handful of new obstacles, but the exploration sections of chapter 6 just dragged far too much for my liking. The success of Portal meant that the budget and scope for the sequel was much greater, and it ended up not quite being as concise and perfectly-formed as the first game, which was perhaps to be expected. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic effort.

Playing through Portal felt like returning to the early days of videogaming, when everything was new and every game needed to be learned from scratch. A first-person game which didn't involve killing bad guys by shooting at them? Who would have thought? (Shooting a portal onto the floor underneath a turret doesn't count.)…Expand

To start off, and clear up some confusion surrounding Still Alive, I will state that the main game is exactly the same as the one included in To start off, and clear up some confusion surrounding Still Alive, I will state that the main game is exactly the same as the one included in The Orange Box. However, there are an additional 14 test chambers and new achievements that were not on the disc. Given the length of time that The Orange Box has been out, I will not cover the main story/game of Portal but will instead focus on the new challenges. All of the charisma of the old Portal is still there and the challenges really do make you start "thinking with portals" once again. The new game mechanics add to the feeling of impending doom you get when playing through the story version of Portal, and some of them really make you sit back and think "how the…Expand

Portal: Still Alive is an overall great re-release of 2007's Portal. The original atmospheric, yet humorous campaign is still there forPortal: Still Alive is an overall great re-release of 2007's Portal. The original atmospheric, yet humorous campaign is still there for newcomers and veterans alike to enjoy, but the developers at Valve have added a heap of new challenge maps that will stretch your brain-cells as you desperately scramble to complete them. Overall, these new challenge maps add an hour or two to your playtime, extending the playtime, which is good, because the campaign is pretty short. All in all, I would recommend getting Still Alive rather than the regular version of Portal 1, because it boasts more content to play.…Expand

Portal is meant to play only by genius people. People that complained about this is because they cannot handle the puzzles. Never in my entirePortal is meant to play only by genius people. People that complained about this is because they cannot handle the puzzles. Never in my entire life thought about some company to put the FPS genre and fuse it with( as already said) puzzle genre. The graphics looks good and bad, but thats not necessary. The controls are great and the puzzles itself are bizarre.…Expand

I think it messes the idea of whole Metacrtici that games like this are rated and ranked in the top list with regular games. It's I think it messes the idea of whole Metacrtici that games like this are rated and ranked in the top list with regular games. It's ridiculous that this game gets over 90 points, come on guys, it's nothing but a lousy XBLA game. It's idiotic to say that XBLA games could be as good as normal games.…Expand